Pocket Monsters
by SparklingEspeon
Summary: Pocket Monsters chronicles the adventures of several pokemon trainers in the world of pokemon, as they strive and compete for the champion's seat. Season One: (Galar) Unlike other kids in Postwick, Gloria only wanted to watch the Galar Pokemon Championships on a TV screen. How fitting that she ended up competing in them instead. AU.
1. S1: 1 - Welcome to Galar

**_NEW GAME**

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Set Language (English – United States)

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LOADING…

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**(-o-)**

**1.**

**Welcome to Galar**

**(-o-)**

Wyndon Stadium flashed with lights bright enough to blind a cramorant. Rightly so. It was only the end of the annual pokemon championships, after all. Tickets had sold like poffins- the stadium was filled with over 2,000 chanting individuals and pokemon, and many others were tuning in all over the world to watch as well. It was safe to say that the Galar Region's Pokemon League was perhaps the most popular league in the world; even more so than Kalos (Although Kalos was a close competitor).

That was hardly beginning to even scratch the surface of league politics, but for the general public it was enough to comprehend the league and nothing more. They didn't need to know what went on behind the scenes in Galar. Chairman Rose had discreetly wired power away from a more obscure section of Wyndon to power the stadium instead, and that had been the end of it. MACROS would diagnose it as an electrical muckup, do some light maintenance on the power lines, and no-one needed to know a thing.

But Chairman Rose couldn't – needn't – worry about that right now. Right now, he had a tournament to run. He dusted off his jacket, adjusted and switched on his mouthpiece, made sure his hair was slicked back the right way, and walked out onto the field.

The cheers of the crowd were almost deafening when Rose's face appeared on the giant screens plastered to the sides of the stadium. Rose gestured for silence, and the crowd quieted down.

"Good evening!" Rose began. His voice blasted over the speakers. "And welcome to the final match of the Galar pokemon championships!"

That was met by a rousing ten seconds of cheers and applause.

"The challenger; you know well," Rose continued. "He's a rising star in the Champion Cup; here to try his luck for the champion's seat."

The Challenger (Who Rose had been too busy to learn the name of) walked onto the field. A round of applause thundered through the stadium for him.

"And I'm sure I don't need to introduce your _champion…"_

Rose flamboyantly pointed to the other end of the stadium, where a small number of fireworks and confetti guns went off. When Champion Leon – billowing cape of sponsorships and all – walked out of the haze, the crowd noise was dialed up so high it almost matched an airplane taking off in volume. Even Chairman Rose himself welcomed Leon to the stage with a hearty clap.

The rotom-cameras zooming through the air directed their attention to Leon and the Challenger as they shook hands.

"Don't expect to come out of this still standing, Leon," Rose heard the Challenger say.

"It's all a coin toss; really," Leon replied. "Fate – and our pokemon – decide the answer."

Their hands parted, and then Champion and Challenger walked to opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Some call our way of life here in Galar unique," Chairman Rose began once both trainers had taken their places. "But one thing is for sure: _No-one_ does pokemon battles quite like we do."

And with that, Rose made haste off the field. He heard the referee's whistle as he walked off the field and safely out of the battle's bounds.

"Alright; Charizard!" Leon's voice boomed over the speakers as Rose took his place by the camera crew's stand. "Get ready to…"

The crowd finished for him. The one singular word made up of thousands of voices boomed through the stadium over and over; almost making Rose's ears hurt: DYNAMAX.

The cameras focused on Leon as he primed the bracelet he wore on his left hand, waiting for Charizard's approval before he struck the button. Charizard was consumed by a glowing pantheon of light- one that slowly grew in power and size until it dissolved around a much larger Charizard that nearly dwarfed the stadium. All the camera equipment flickered for a brief moment as the Dynamax transformation continued, but resumed functioning like normal once it had finished. Rose's perceptive eye noticed all this, but declined to say anything.

"Alright, then we're doing it too!" the Challenger yelled into his mouthpiece. "Intellion! Let's Dynamax!"

He primed his own bracelet, hitting the button as soon as it was ready. The crowd braced for yet another thrilling Dynamax transformation, but it never came. Instead, the Challenger was promptly zapped by the bracelet, which was beginning to let out a low whine.

"Uh… This- This isn't supposed to be happening, right?" the Challenger said, quickly trying to pry his bracelet off his wrist before it could do anything to him. The crewpeople and pokemon next to Rose let out a collective sigh of frustration. Rose knew better than anyone that this had not been the first such malfunction that had occurred over the past two weeks.

"Alright; lower the platform!" one of the crewpeople called out. "We need to get it looked at."

However, no sooner had the trainer platform begun to lower then the challenger got his loudly droning Dynamax Bracelet off, and the second it hit the floor of the platform was the last second of the challenger's life. The platform suddenly went up in flames and blew apart, drawing the attention of the both the cameras and the crowd.

As horrified shouts and cries came from the stadium, Rose whispered something to the cameramon, and walked out onto the field to deal with the mess.

(-o-)

SparklingEspeon Presents…

**Pocket Monsters – Season One**

Based upon the games by Nintendo and Game Freak

Pokemon: Sword and Shield

(-o-)

Would you like to save your progress?

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Saving… do not remove the game card or turn off the console.

…Saved!


	2. S1: 2 - An Endorsement

LOAD SAVE?

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LOADING…

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**~(-o-)~**

**2.**

**An Endorsement**

**~(-o-)~**

Postwick had a wooloo problem.

Well; really they were more of a nuisance than a _problem,_ per say, but it could be said that there was a reason much of Wedgehurst specialized in clothing production.

Not that any of that concerned Gloria. It was Vacation, and all Gloria was currently concerned with was sleeping in until twelve P.M. and doing nothing but watching TV and eating galarian junk food for the next two weeks until they had to fly back to Kanto. And even though it was 8:30, which was the time that she usually got up during the rest of the year, today was Vacation and_ she could sleep in, darnit._

~Knock-knock-knock~

It came from the window, but Gloria willfully ignored it. It wasn't twelve yet. Whoever it was could go away and stuff their problems down someone else's throat. She simply rolled over in bed away from the window, and covered her head with one of the pillows.

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

~Knock-knock-knock~

Gloria sat straight up in bed, looking like a witch with bloodshot eyes. This was _unbearable!_ Who wanted to talk to her _this badly_ before twelve?!

A boy, apparently. He was eagerly knocking on the window and waving and overall looking like a crazed aipom. Except Gloria didn't know anyone in this town, so he had no reason to be here.

…

…So why _was_ he here?

(-o-)

"_Mum,_ there's this boy outside my window!" Gloria yelled down the hallway.

"I know already!" Mum's response floated back down the hallway. "I sent him to wake you up!"

"_What?!"_ Gloria shouted back.

"You remember Hop?"

Shit, she had completely forgotten about Hop.

"Shit; I completely forgot about Hop…" she muttered to herself. "…Yes! I remember Hop!"

"Well, his brother's coming back to town today; he wanted to know if you'd come! You do remember his brother; right?"

Gloria pseudo facepalmed.

"Mum! Literally everyone and their pokemon remembers his brother…"

"Well, hop to it; then! It's not every day you get to meet the pokemon champion."

"But…" Gloria looked back towards her bed, which seemed so inviting right about now. Just the air conditioning inside the house felt like Sinnoh to her; she didn't even want to think about Galar's coldish climate right now. "But it's Vacation; Mum! I don't wanna get up early! I wanna sleep in until twelve and watch TV all day!"

"Don't we all; young lady…"

Gloria didn't even have a response to that.

~Knock-knock-knock~

Hop banged extra loudly on the window. When Gloria looked back, he waved excitedly at her.

"Can't you call him off?" she asked.

"Call him off yourself!" Mum yelled back. "I'm not your maid!"

(-o-)

Hop had been just about ready to give up and head down to Wedgehurst all by himself when suddenly his hard efforts and sore knuckles were rewarded – the window opened outward, and Gloria peeked out.

"Gloria!" Hop began excitedly. "C'mon! Leon's coming back and your mum said you could come! Don't you wanna meet the pokemo-"

"Get lost." Gloria slammed the window in his face. There were no curtains in her room, so she was cursed with having to stare at Hop looking like a kicked yamper for an extra five seconds before she could flop down in her bed and finally sleep again.

She snuggled into the bedcovers, letting the bitter cold of the outside world drown in comfy sheets and pillows and all-blessed sleep… Okay; she was probably going to regret this in like four hours but it felt amazing. She needed to sleep in more often-

**BOOM.**

**BOOM.**

**BOOM.**

Gloria sat up in her bed, looking like an even more bloodshot witch. Why didn't that kid just quit already?

(-o-)

"HOP!"

Gloria marched out the door of the luxurious house she and Mum were staying in for the next two weeks, looking barely presentable to even go outside. She was wearing her jacket _inside out;_ for heavens' sake.

Hop danced around anxiously as Gloria approached him, pointing at something.

"It's- It's not me!" He cried. "It's-"

Gloria marched to a stop right next to where Hop was, then looked in the direction Hop was pointing. Right near her bedroom, there was a wooloo rolling itself into the side of the house like a sandshrew. Gloria just stared at it in confusion and building frustration- how was she going to sleep in now? That was just not ignorable.

Hop folded his arms and shook his head.

"You know how wooloo are…" he said. "It ain't gonna stop until it's ready.

"But…" Gloria was at the point of peak frustration now. "My sleep! I was gonna sleep in today!"

Without waiting for an answer from Hop, she spun around in the dirt and began to head back up towards the house. "I guess I'm going, then."

At the very least she was going to make the most of a bad situation.

(-o-)

"Alright, Mum; I'm leaving!" Gloria; who (after ten minutes to eat breakfast and get ready) was feeling just a little more into it, stepped out of the house. Hop was leaning against the mailbox, cupping his hands around his mouth and making 'woot' noises.

"Well, so am I! Wait up!" There was the clacking of footsteps against the wood floor, and then Mum ducked out the door, brushing herself off.

"Don't forget; we're going to be visiting your grandmother later today," Mum told Gloria as they walked down the steps.

"How could I forget?" Gloria replied. The sarcasm dripped through her tone.

Hop spared a look at Gloria and Mum as they made their way down the steps, then let out one final 'woot' and skipped ahead of them both.

"It's a bit of a walk to Wedgehurst!" he called. "Hope you're up for it!"

And with that, he took off down the streets of Postwick in excitement. Gloria was _sure_ she saw him hop a fence or two on the way down.

(-o-)

"Good afternoon Wedgehurst! Your champion has returned!"

Leon struck a flamboyant pose outside the train station of Wedgehurst. Cheers, airhorns, and various other obnoxious noises accompanied his pseudo-dab, along with Charizard's roar. Or maybe it just felt that way to Gloria, who was still in wake-up mode a little. Leon dropped the pose once the cheering subsided.

"I solemnly promise to keep delivering stunning battles for you all to watch in the future!" he continued; reciting one of his scripted lines from television that Gloria remembered just from having watched all nine of his reigning championships with Mum. The moment Leon finished, the crowd around him swarmed in, giving him autographs and asking questions and requesting battle advice. Even Charizard's threatening roar did nothing to ward them off; as Charizard itself was swarmed by a pack of children almost immediately after drawing attention to itself. The only voice that outshone the crowds' was that of a certain 11-year-old boy jumping and waving behind the crowd.

"Lee! Over here!" Hop yelled out. He jumped and waved his arms up in the air so that he could be see seen over the crowd. Inwardly, Gloria scoffed. Like that was going to attract Leon's attention over all this crowd-

-Leon caught a glimpse of Hop's arms as he was signing one of the replica league cards the Wedgehurst Gift Store must have had a ball selling after catching wind he would be coming back to town. Once he had finished, he quickly handed the pen back to the gleeful autographee, and began to walk forwards. The crowd parted for him and his billowing cape as he did.

"…And of course my number #1 fan came to greet me back!" Leon exclaimed, engulfing Hop in a hug the second he got close enough. Gloria couldn't believe that had worked.

"You have got to endorse me for the championships this year!" Hop exclaimed excitedly. "You're gonna endorse me- right?"

Leon didn't answer that. He bent down, closing an eye and measuring something with his hands.

"An… inch and a half taller since I last saw you; I reckon. Wow; you grow up fast."

"That perceptive eye is what's kept you champion all these years, right?" Hop was in no shortage of compliments for the Pokemon Champion.

"Too true." Leon ruffled Hop's hair.

"Champion Leon!"

Leon turned his head back towards the crowd. Back near the station gate, Charizard was now futilely trying to stop kids from climbing all over its body and warming their hands off its tail flame. "Hmm?"

"How do you plan to avoid another incident like last year's?" The person who had asked was a man in their late twenties; probably an undercover news reporter of some kind. Leon stood back up, turning to the crowd. His posture became solemn.

"The Chairman's scientists have been toiling day and night to fix the technology malfunction that resulted in last year's horrible accident," he said. "It is my solemn promise to all of you that we will do our best to avoid another such tragedy in the future. In the meanwhile; however… we will hold this year's championships in his honor."

That garnered perhaps the largest applause of all.

"Remember…" Leon began. "Carry on training your pokemon, never shy from battle, and most importantly; have a champion time! Champion Leon; out!"

And with that, he dabbed. The airhorns began blowing again, and Charizard roared almost as loud as the crowd.

(-o-)

"Ah; Leon! Right on time. Come in; all of you!"

Professor Magnolia quickly ushered Leon in, followed by Hop. When Mum reached the top of the stairway, she and the professor hugged.

"Mom."

"Yes; it's been a while; hasn't it?" Professor Magnolia patted Mum's back, looking at Gloria. "And this must be Gloria- how are you, sweetie?"

"Tired." Gloria went with what sounded like the safest answer. It's not like it wasn't true.

"Late sleeper? Don't worry; you'll get used to it. Come in!" Magnolia ushered them both in. "We have some poffins in the kitchen. I'll set the kettle."

(-o-)

Corviknight murmured and ruffled his feather uncomfortably as a pair of league officials messed around with the saddle on his back. Professor Magnolia opened the window and leaned out.

"Don't be rough with him!" She yelled out at them. "He likes poffins- feed him some of those!" Then she closed the window.

"Poffins?" Mum asked with interest. "What kind?"

"Bitter," Professor Magnolia answered. "The old coot."

She began to walk down the hall once more.

(-o-)

On the stove, a tea kettle simmered.

"Mark V." Professor Magnolia sat a sleeker-looking Dynamax Bracelet down on the table on front of her. "These are programmed to act in accordance with the new league rules. It'll only activate once per battle now."

On the other end of the table, Leon stroked his chin thoughtfully. He shared a look with Charizard.

"…I see. we'll uh… update our strategy accordingly," he finally said, setting his old bracelet on the table and taking the new one.

"Good boy." Magnolia pocketed the old one for safekeeping.

Leon got up from the chair and stretched.

"Have you seen Hop?" he asked. "I have something for him."

"Thataway." Magnolia pointed up the stairs. Leon nodded, then headed up towards the second floor without a second thought.

The teakettle began to whistle. Glancing at it, Professor Magnolia grabbed her cane and started to get up from her seat-

"Oh; no, Mom!" Mum quickly jogged into the kitchen, shutting off the teapot before Professor Magnolia could leave her seat. "Don't get up. I've got it."

She quickly poured the water into a teapot on the stove, set that on a metal tray, grabbed two teacups, and brought it all over to the table.

"So…" Mum spoke as she stirred the tea in her cup absentmindedly. "How've you been lately?"

"Oh, I'd like to say fine," Professor Magnolia responded. "The Championships are coming around, and it's stressful as always. Some days I feel like I never should have entered this business at all…" She massaged her temples.

"But never mind that. I shan't burden you with my woes. Allow me to cut straight to the point: Every year, nine trainers are endorsed by the eight gym leaders of Galar and the reigning champion to compete in the annual Galar Pokemon Championships. This year, however, the town of Ballonlea has no suitable trainers! The gym leader has left it to me to choose a proper replacement."

Professor Magnolia leaned forward, setting her tea aside so she wouldn't accidently knock it over.

"I would like to endorse Gloria."

"Mom…" Mum would have said something, but the shock going through her head couldn't properly be put into words. "…You know we're just on vacation. We're only here for two weeks! How will we afford it all? The travel fares? The food?"

"An all-expense-paid trip across the region." Professor Magnolia sat up straight. "Meals and lodging included. Just thought I'd offer, if you and your daughter are interested. If not, I shall be more than happy to find someone else."

It was all a large shock for Mum. There was nothing for her to say; so she said nothing. Magnolia adjusted the handle of her teacup so that it was pointing towards her, leaning forward on her cane: "I know you wanted to be a pokemon trainer when you were young. This is your chance to give your daughter what you never had…"

(-o-)

"Hop what are you doing in here."

Gloria marched into Professor Magnolia's bedroom (The door was slightly ajar. She'd be remiss not to look), batting the door the rest of the way open and staring at Hop, who was fooling around on the professor's computer.

Hop spun around in the professor's swivel chair, doing a full circuit before coming around to face Gloria. "What? The professor doesn't even lock her computer? What did you expect me to do?"

"Be a respectful guest and stay out of her stuff?"

"You're trespassing too."

"Only because _you're _in here!"

Hop just spun back around and went back to whatever he was doing on the computer. Gloria looked around, then walked in and took a seat on the bed. If Hop was trespassing, then like hell she wasn't.

Hop seemed to be watching something on the computer. Squinting over his shoulder, Gloria recognized it as one of the champion battles from the Galar League Championships. Chairman Rose was currently giving the opening statements; and then there was a sudden blast of confetti and smoke, and Champion Leon himself appeared for the crowd. Gloria looked at the challenger on the screen, and then she realized: This was that battle.

Noticing that someone was behind him, Hop stopped the video and looked back at Gloria.

"What's that one?" She asked; despite already knowing.

"It's Leon's Finals Match from last year. My mum doesn't want me to see it because some guy died in an explosion or something." Hop clicked the play button again.

"Alright; Charizard! Let's get ready to…" On-screen Leon shouted into the speakers. Hop hit the space bar once more, pausing the video.

"The news said the Dynamax bracelets used during the battle interfered with the trainer platforms. That's why Leon's getting a replacement." Hop leaned back, spinning in the chair a few times for good measure. "Your grandma invented Dynamaxing, you know. This is _literally_ your legacy!"

Wow…" Gloria muttered; supporting her head with a hand as she watched Hop spin. "Glad to know my legacy amounts to killing some guy."

Hop came to a sudden stop, facing Gloria. "Don't you_ wanna_ be known as the granddaughter of the person who made Dynamaxing possible?"

"Hop."

Both Gloria and Hop jumped. Leon stood in the doorway, looking at the both of them. He glanced around the room, then back at Hop and Gloria. "Should you be in here?"

"Oh no." Gloria quickly got up from the bed. "We were just-"

"It was only-" Hop pleaded.

Leon waved his hand. "Save it. Hop. I have something for you." He looked at Gloria. "Gloria too, since she's here. Just… meet in the courtyard. Both of you."

(-o-)

"Alright." It was high afternoon, and the courtyard was set to take the full brunt of the sun's heat. Not that it meant much in Galar. Somehow it still managed to be chilly cold, even with Gloria's jacket and sun shining down on her. Hop; a Galar native, was able to stand there in nothing but a semi-short-sleeved coat and be perfectly at home, which Gloria hated to say she kind of envied. Leon stood before them with Charizard, holding something blatantly concealed behind his back. "Earlier, Hop, you asked me if I was going to endorse you for the championships this year. I'm going to let you decide the answer to that."

And with that, he pulled a trio of poke-balls out from behind his cape, expertly hit the buttons on all three, and threw them up into the air. Gloria recognized all three pokemon as they came out of their balls- scorbunny, sobble, and grookey were all considered large names in the Galar League. You could always tell who the champion's endorsement was each year because the champion's endorsement almost always had a scorbunny, sobble, or grookey on their initial team.

"Scorbunny, Sobble, Grookey; front-and-center!" Leon commanded, and all three pokemon obediently lined up in front of Gloria and Hop.

"Now on the count of three, you both pick a pokemon," Leon said. "Don't think; just make a gut decision. You'll never go wrong with those."

And before Gloria could say anything at all, he held out his hand, holding three fingers up. _Putting them on the spot. Just great._

"Three… Two… One…" Leon ticked them off on his finger. "…Now!" Gloria closed her eyes and stepped forward, scrabbling around in the dust until her fingers grasped the hard, metallic shell of a poke-ball. She lifted it up in her hands, feeling the weight it held; the weight of a heavy piece of machinery. She wondered how much it took to really throw this thing.

Gloria opened her eyes. Right in her face was Scorbunny's snout. Immediately, she fell back on her behind in surprise, which spooked Scorbunny and sent it hopping circles around her uncontrollably. The grookey Hop had evidently picked lightly tapped him on the leg with its stick.

Leon leaned forward and picked up Sobble's poke-ball. "And I guess that means you are coming with me." He returned Sobble, and stuck the poke-ball to his belt.

"Let's test your battle skills; both of you!" he suddenly declared. "See how you fare against each other. The mark of a good trainer is seeing how they fare in battle with their pokemon. If Gloria's up for it; of course."

Gloria was still trying to get Scorbunny to calm down. It was so fast she didn't seem to have any hope of catching it, but at the same time she didn't want to move lest she trip over it or something. When Leon made his declaration she was barely listening; even less so when it became directed at her. "Yeah; whatever Hop said," she absentmindedly told Leon as she futilely attempted to get Scorbunny under control.

Hop's next words jolted her back to attention almost immediately: "Awesome! You're gonna help get me endorsed for the championships!"

"_What?"_ Gloria's attention was ripped from Scorbunny to Hop and Leon. She immediately looked at Leon, who just shrugged. Hop was busy giving her a load of Baby-Doll-Eyes, which were not very effective at all but Gloria wasn't going to deal with him for the rest of the evening like that, so she reluctantly stood and grasped her poke-ball. "Alright. Let's just get this over with."

Immediately, Hop switched into 'battle mode'. He stood straight up and brandished his own poke-ball. Grookey didn't seem to notice at all, doing its own thing with its stick obliviously. Scorbunny jogged to a halt in front of Gloria, hopping in place.

"And…" Leon held his arm up. "…Start!" The arm went down.

Scorbunny didn't even wait for Gloria to give an order. It dashed forwards, jumping in the air and KICKING Grookey in the back of the head. Now fully-clued in as to what was happening, Grookey summoned its stick and began to give Scorbunny what-for with it. Hop and Gloria just stared in shock at their two quarrelling pokemon.

"Scorbunny, stop it!"

"That's not how pokemon battles are supposed to go!"

Charizard let out a puff of smoke. Leon just massaged his temples and shook his head- this had been a mistake.

(-o-)

Where there had once been a teapot, an array of paperwork now littered the table Mum and Professor Magnolia sat at. Mum looked over it all; suitably overwhelmed.

Both Mum and the Professor looked up when shouting began to drift in from outside. Mum sat down her pen and looked at the window.

"What is going on out there?"

(-o-)

Scorbunny eventually managed to get its bearing and kicked Grookey once more in the head, which sent Grookey reeling back and caused it to lose its stick. Gloria; who had been trying in vain to get Scorbunny to calm down, had an idea.

"Scorbunny!" she yelled. "Keep… keep doing that!"

"Grookey! Get your stick!" she heard Hop yell.

She wasn't sure if Scorbunny had actively heard her or was just doing the most obvious thing, but one thing was for sure: the kicks didn't stop coming. Grookey managed to reach its tick and began to whack Scorbunny once more, but it was to little avail.

"Tackle!" Hop yelled.

"Move out of the way! Now use Kick again!" Gloria commanded. Leon looked up from his self-annoyance at the sound of the cries. Could it be?

Out of nowhere, Scorbunny reared back, and suddenly spat an ember out at Grookey. The attack sent Grookey reeling backwards; but it managed to catch its balance before it could slam into Hop. Both Scorbunny and Grookey prepared to charge at one another-

"Enough!" Leon shouted. All four people and pokemon looked towards him, and they could see that he was clapping. "I've seen enough.

"See?" Mum and Professor Magnolia glanced out the porch door at Hop and Gloria, who were currently catching their breaths and celebrating. "She's a natural."

(-o-)

"I got endorsed! I'm Leon's pick for the year!"

Hop ran through the halls of the spacious house Leon's family lived in, his hands above his head. Leon's Mum looked away from her conversation with Mum to turn her attention to Hop. "What's this about an endorsement?"

"I got endorsed for the championships!" Hop exclaimed, and then he was off again before Leon's Mum could follow up on that. Mum stared at the floor for a moment; conflicted.

(-o-)

The barbeque sizzled with the smell of vegetable kabobs, which Leon's Father was tending to. Charizard leaned over the grill curiously, and when Leon's Father wasn't looking he snatched a bite.

Mum was talking with Leon's Mum, and Leon was watching Hop mess around with Grookey. Gloria sat on the bench in Hop's backyard, far removed from it all. She held Scorbunny's poke-ball in her hands. While she liked watching the pokemon championships in Galar when they went on vacation, she had never wanted a pokemon of her own. The highlight of their vacation was usually a train ride to Mohostoke, and now she had a whole other _being_ to worry about. A being trapped in a ball that she was currently holding in her hands. She'd thought about just returning it to Leon, but that seemed rude- when the Pokemon Champion gave you something, you didn't snub it.

Hesitantly, she pressed the button, releasing Scorbunny on the bench. Scorbunny looked like it was about to wild again, but upon seeing the solemn look on Gloria's face it calmed down.

Gloria did the only thing she could think of: "Just because the pokemon champion decided to give you to me doesn't mean we're friends," she told Scorbunny.

She couldn't deny that Scorbunny's murmur of disappointment made her just a _little_ sorry.

(-o-)

It was nighttime, and the wooloo of Postwick had long settled down for the night. Gloria was glad to see that the wooloo making a racket outside their house had already curled up for the night as well.

"Everything was alright today?" Mum asked as they both entered the house. "You had fun?"

"Yes…" Gloria answered as she walked in. "Why?"

"Nothing; you just seem bummed out."

Gloria took a seat at the table. She sat the poke-ball on the wooden surface. "It's just… today. With Hop, and…" she let her arms go limp.

She should have known something was off the moment Mum sighed.

"Gloria…" she began. "You know I hate to put you on the spot like this, but the deadline is tomorrow, so you should see it." She pulled a rolled up stack of papers out of her pocket, and handed them to Gloria. Gloria looked them over. Her eyes grew wide as saucers. This was unbelievable!

"This is… Mum?! How did you get this?" she asked frantically. "Why do I want this?"

Mum looked almost shocked by her second question.

"Your grandmother," she finally answered. "You were her first pick."

"But we came here to watch the league, not compete in it!" Gloria protested. "I don't even want this pokemon!" she gestured to Scorbunny's poke-ball.

"I know, but this is such an opportunity for you!" Mum fired back. Realizing how heated her tone was getting, she took a deep breath and dialed it back a little. "It's… something that I wanted to do when I was young, but never had the chance to. You can have that. If you want it."

Gloria just stared at the papers. She wasn't interested in becoming the pokemon champion at all (And wasting her vacation in the process), but if she DID compete… she had bragging rights once they flew back to Kanto. And what was she going to say to her friends if she didn't compete? 'Oh, golly-gee; I met the pokemon champion and was offered a one-way-track to competing in the pokemon league, and I said no!'? She looked at Mum, then back at the poke-ball. Leon's words flew through her head: "Just make a gut decision. You'll never go wrong with those."

"…fine-I'll-go," Gloria finally burst out. "Just… don't get mad if I lose at the first gym or something."

"Oh; sweetie… I would never get mad at you," Mum said as she hugged Gloria. Mid-hug, Gloria was discreetly handed a pen.

"You'll need to sign here, here, and here," Mum said as they went over the paperwork. "And the train leaves at noon. Got all that?"

Gloria nodded. She took a deep breath. The hand that held the pen hovered above the signatures. Technically, she could still go back. Right? She looked at Mum's face, which was practically encouraging her to sign it.

No, she couldn't. She was in too deep now. And with that, the ink of the pen met the crisp sheet of paper.

~(-o-)~

Would you like to save your progress?

**_Yes**

No

Saving… do not remove the game card or turn off the console.

…Saved!


End file.
